Marketing during a Recession with IMS

What are you doing to advertise or marketing your way out of the recession? Are you using your trade exchange members’ services at every opportunity? Here are a few inexpensive ideas to keep your name in front of the public. The services and products suggested can be obtained on barter in most cases.

1. Business Card/Double Duty: Next time you print your business cards print a special offer on the back. Make it a coupon good for a 10% or 15% discount at your place of business.


2. Gifts: A Southern California travel company sends their preferred customers cookies frosted with their company logo as a welcome home gift (after a cruise) when there is a natural letdown. They reason it’s better than wine prior to the customer leaving on the cruise.


3. Printing: Printing 2-color postcards is an inexpensive way to keep your name in front of your customers by mailing them on a regular on-going basis. Not to mention, you can use a direct mailing client from the IMS network to save additional cash on the mailing.


4. Joint Cooperation: Seek out small business owners who aren’t competitors but work in related fields-ones who you’ll have a similar market and philosophy with. (Or find another product that complements yours and promote both products jointly.) Look into exchanging customer lists so a cold call becomes a referral from a familiar vendor. You can also collaborate on direct mail pieces to cut down on expenses and increase your exposure. In such a situation, suggest he pay you half and you’ll spend the effort lining up the work to be done. With his half in cash, you increase your cash flow because you get the job done through trade.


5. Traveling Sign: Your company sign can “travel” all around the community if it is a vehicle wrap.


6. Thank You Notes: Getting your money’s worth is easy with inexpensive “thank you” notes. They can come in many forms, from a simple card or notepad, to a letter opener or a packet of post-it notes with your name on it.


7. On-Hold: Research by AT&T has found that 60% of business callers are put on hold for an average of 40-42 seconds. Your commercial message played during this time could bring in additional business.


8. Data Base: Every business should have a customer database that can be used for different purposes, but most importantly, to stay in touch with those you value.


9. The Sleeper (Free Sources of Sales Leads): If a competitor of yours goes out of business, immediately call its local and long-distance telephone providers and try to take over the failed firm’s telephone number. Your former competitor has product literature, catalogs, business cards, and advertising with their old telephone number on it, and these items will be around for years. If you have arranged to have those numbers forwarded to you, you will have a free source of sales leads for years.

All of these suggestions are inexpensive to incorporate. Call your IMS broker today and get started now!